Summer Soccer Poll

[dcfcsteve]

It's only come up yet again because the smell of coffee became so over-powering that Seery finally woke up.

Summer.

[A face]

The reasons against are so amature it's not real, seriously pathetic stuff being wheeled out from the anti-summer camp. If there were any valid practical points to their argument then i'd listen, but its very hard to stay open minded aswell when selfish one-sided people with an agenda of some sort that is completely obvious to everyone keep on chipping in with cráp .... they never seem to talk about the bigger picture in all of this. Its always the NIMBG type slant on it, with people actually trying to blame summer soccer as the root of all evil and they forget about all the other excuses they used to wheel out before the change.

[ger121]

Summer for me

[Macy]

* Well then IMO it has been a success. Ok attendances are down but I cant see how summer football is to blame. Afterall summer football offers better quality football, better weather, not as much competition from Sky Sports, also many people have more free time in summer, What does winter football offer? Sh!te pitches, Sh!te weather and worse European results (best way of attracting fans)

You admit attendances are down, yet you say skill levels and the football offered is better. Can't be much else left as a reason bar summer football? If attendances are down, it's obvious people preferred winter seasons.

I think there's far more competition in the summer tbh. The only sport we're not clashing with for a few weeks is UK football, instead we have the GAA (which for the rural teams is significant in terms of local championship games too). Maybe we're also competing with the weather as well - In recent weeks has the weather been a help or hindrance with family days out, BBQ's, Beer Gardens, chores in the garden etc?

[Macy]

The point of the poll was to settle once & for all whether fans wanted summer or winter football - 2 options, real simple. So often fans opinions are never listened by the powers that be.

Whether foot.ie members want summer or winter football. But sure a poll on here will prove it, rather than actual attendances at games.

[Macy]

The reasons against are so amature it's not real, seriously pathetic stuff being wheeled out from the anti-summer camp. If there were any valid practical points to their argument then i'd listen, but its very hard to stay open minded aswell when selfish one-sided people with an agenda of some sort that is completely obvious to everyone keep on chipping in with cráp .... they never seem to talk about the bigger picture in all of this. Its always the NIMBG type slant on it, with people actually trying to blame summer soccer as the root of all evil and they forget about all the other excuses they used to wheel out before the change.

I thought this was no discussion in this thread and then we get a rant like that? A face, there's two threads on the go that is actually raising concerns that you could address (especially if the evidence is so clear) rather than post an attack on any poster that dares say they prefer winter seasons.

[Billy Lord]

Lads, summer football isn't the problem, the problem is that Irish football is poor, the facilities abysmal, the clubs are an administrative joke, and Irish people are basically day-tripping glory-hunters who couldn't care less about the local game because all they want is the hype of the Premiership and the odd Ole day watching Oireland or cheering on their county bogball or stickfighting team.
Like every other panacea offered in modern times, summer football wasn't a panacea at all, and anyone who thought there'd be a massive increase in attendances was fooling themselves. Sean and Mary citizen don't care when we play because what we offer isn't what they want. It's not when, it's just no sale. Not interested.
But if anyone genuinely feels that a winter season (when it's cold, damp and grounds are most unpleasant places to be) is preferable to the kind of weather that encourages people to go out, well then I think we might as well close the door and just give up.
I have now experienced the difference between going to home games in t-shirt conditions and freezing cold and damp, the difference between enjoying a trip to the Brandywell in brilliant sunshine or gritting my teeth in the depths of a grim Irish winter, and there really is no contest. Summer football is fun, winter football is torture.
Weather conditions have improved immeasurably for those of us who want to go, why should we surrender those improvements to encourage people who don't want to go to ramshackle grounds to see poor football in the first place?
Stop paying mad wages, run your club affairs properly, build up your local infrastructure, improve your facilities, and stop looking for easy solutions to a complex problem. In short, think and act like GAA clubs, get organised, get out there and live within your means rather than in your dreams.
Dublin City's demise offered the knockers yet another chance to show that they are right to ignore and sneer at the EL. Playing in winter will not change their minds. Do I have to italicise? THEY DON'T CARE.

[Dodge]

Agree with you Billy in general (see my post son dcfcsteve's thread) BUT although crowds have always been poor, there was a HUGE drop for a lot of clubs when the season went to summertime. Much as we like to distance ourselves from the English game, the fact is most of our potential audience consider them the standard bearers. IMO the fact we play a different season to the British leagues (and the CL and Spain and all the TV leagues) makes some people think that we're not a "proper league". Add in the ridiculous World Cup break and it looks even more like that. All the el crowd pointing out the Nordic leagues doesn't mean a damn. In the eyes of 80% of football "fans" in this country the season runs August-May and during June and July most switch off fotball.

Of course there are loads of other (more important) factors why the league is struggling, and I've said many times I prefer the Summer games myself, BUT the change has meant a drop in attendances.

[Wiseguy]

Whether we have a summer or winter season makes fcuk all difference.Granted, summer footie has more to compete with to get the crowds but winter footie has the bad weather to contend with.For starters we need someone who can actually run the league and know what they're supposed to be doing.Taking a break for the world cup and DCFC going bust just shows what a joke of a league it really is.Now to make even more of a mockery of it the new super dooper premier division is going to be hand picked yet John Delaney said that football needs to be sorted out on the pitch What's gong to happen if one of the teams docked points over the DCFC debacle end up losing the league because of it.It will end up in the courts and on every newspaper creating more negative publicity.Everyone involved should be focusing on how to get more people out to games and then build it from there.

[Dodge]

The result of the poll, to date, is amazing.

How could anybody argue that the game has benefited from the change to summer soccer?

That wasn' the question though, It was "Preference: Summer or Winter Football?"

Most people prefer warm weather. If there was poll on whether summer soccer has advanced the league, we'd have different results (or people would lie...)

[noby]

The 'summer football = t-shirt weather' theory is a little over-simplified, though, isn't it.

For the start and end of the season, most games fall into the cold/dark/wet season anyway.
Conversely, in the height of the summer, a trip to the beach or BBQ might be more appealing to the more casual fan on a Friday evening then travelling across the country to see a match. I put myself in this category, and while there hasn't been much to encourage me to go to the RSC of late, I haven't been since the good weather started, and only start to get interested in footie again when the evenings start to draw in.

Obviously you can argue that I'm not a 'true' fan, but I think I fall into a category of fan that isn't being encouraged by summer football, and that has to be something to look at. Is that enough to change back to winter football? I don't think so. But surely the league has to focus on persuading the floating supporter that a night at the football is the best way to spend your Fridays during the summer months.

[lofty9]

http://www.uefa.com/footballeurope/n...Id=439197.html

[Dodge]

Fitzmaurice writes the UEFA stuff

[Rebal Boy]

Summer defentily.

[sligoman]

Summer for EL's better performances in Europe

Winter for the league in general*

*This is the most important in my opinion so I voted winter.

[EnDai]

The 'summer football = t-shirt weather' theory is a little over-simplified, though, isn't it.

For the start and end of the season, most games fall into the cold/dark/wet season anyway.
Conversely, in the height of the summer, a trip to the beach or BBQ might be more appealing to the more casual fan on a Friday evening then travelling across the country to see a match. I put myself in this category, and while there hasn't been much to encourage me to go to the RSC of late, I haven't been since the good weather started, and only start to get interested in footie again when the evenings start to draw in.

Obviously you can argue that I'm not a 'true' fan, but I think I fall into a category of fan that isn't being encouraged by summer football, and that has to be something to look at. Is that enough to change back to winter football? I don't think so. But surely the league has to focus on persuading the floating supporter that a night at the football is the best way to spend your Fridays during the summer months.

Not encouraged by summer football? You basically said you prefer to go to the beach or have a BBQ than go to a game, thats your choice fair enough. But apart from putting sand in the stands to make castles with and giving out free burgers what do you think is the best way of "persuading the floating supporter that a night at the football is the best way to spend your Fridays during the summer months"? Quality of football perhaps?

Ok, so maybe not at Waterford!

[noby]

Obviously, being a footie forum, there are a lot of dedicated fans here. All I'm trying to do is come at it from more of the casual fans point of view.
Already a few times this year I've decided a few pints on a Friday evening is more of an appealing option than travelling to the game (a home game for me is still a 60mile round trip). Whatever about the blues' current situation, I'm sure this is happening all over the country.

I don't know what the answer is. Quality of football? Of course that will help. And quality of pitches, euro results etc., which have all been mentioned.
I'm not pushing for a move back to winter, but I don't think it's enough just to change the starting date of the league, and then sit back and expect it all to work perfectly.

[dav_sfc]

What was the trend of attendances before summer football? going down? at what rate? did summer football help stop this rate or increase it?

I would imagine that attendances would be even worse had we stuck to winter football.

Euroball will help get people to matches 25,000 to see Shels V Depor, more of that please. Imagine Uefa or CL group stage matches!

We can't go back to Mudball or Freezeball, unless bigger teams around europe turn their pitches to mud so we can compete!

[Macy]

Euroball will help get people to matches 25,000 to see Shels V Depor, more of that please. Imagine Uefa or CL group stage matches!

How many at the next Shels domestic home game? Around a 1000 even by optimistic estimates. No one's denying the european results have improved, but to what end? Bragging rights while the league dies?

[pete]

No one has given any reason why they think attendances in the winter would be better than the summer.

I stands to reason that small clubs will alwasy resist change & progress as feel they will be left behind.